This invention relates to a side guard for a hospital bed and more particularly the invention relates to a side guard for a hospital birthing bed.
A birthing bed is a structure designed to provide comfort to the mother, to permit the mother to assume various positions that help in moving the baby along during contractions, and to facilitate the work of the attending gynecologist. The birthing bed to which the present invention is directed has a patient support consisting of three major panels, namely, a head panel against which the back of the patient can recline, a seat panel and a leg panel. As is customary in hospital beds, it has been common practice to provide side guards to prevent the patient's accidental falling out of the bed. In one form of birthing bed it has been known to provide, as a side guard, an elongated panel on which controls for manipulating the bed and performing other functions have been provided. That side guard has been mounted on the seat panel of the bed. A labor grip has been provided on the forward end of the panel. The panel has been mounted on parallelogram linkages that permit the side guard to swing in a path parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bed from an upper operative position to a lower inoperative position. When in the lower inoperative position, the side guards can be thrust inwardly out of the way under the bed. Thus, the shift from operative position to a storage position is a two-step operation.
The present invention is directed to improving the side guard in two principal respects, namely, its configuration and enhanced suitability for assisting in the laboring process; and its mounting for easy shifting from an upper operative position to a lower inoperative storage position.
Focusing first on the improved configuration, an objective of the present invention has been to expand the utility of the side guard.
This objective has been attained by providing an elongated, inverted U-shaped handrail surrounding the upper portion of the panel forming the side guard. The handrail is particularly useful in the laboring process. For example, it is contemplated that the mother can kneel on the leg or seat portion of the birthing bed, facing the head panel, and grip the side guard at any one of a number of longitudinal positions along its length, the mother being able to find the most ideal position for her given all of the circumstances of her size and condition. The handrail is also useful in assisting the mother in getting into and out of bed, the side guard being mounted on the head panel so that the mother can grip the side guard and swing about the seat panel to enter and exit the bed. Further, the side guard aids the patient in repositioning herself in bed, especially after surgery or the birthing process.
Focusing on the second feature of the invention, it has been an objective of the present invention to provide an improved mounting for the side guard enabling it to be moved quickly between its upper operative position and its lower storage position.
The latter objective of the invention is attained by mounting the side guard on a parallelogram linkage that causes the side guard to swing initially, outwardly away from the bed and then downwardly and inwardly to a storage position underneath the head panel of the bed. A dashpot is connected between the side guard and the bed frame to reduce the velocity of the side guard as it drops to its lower position, thereby preventing any injury to the side guard and associated mechanism as well as preventing a disturbing clanking of the side guard as it drops to its lower position.